Lester versus the Cat - Outline Mashup!

Sometimes you need to power up!

I love working with outlines, despite my checkered past as a pantser.

Some complain that outlining ruins the joy of discovery for them, most notably Stephen King himself. But as I've mentioned elsewhere (YouTube ), outlines serve a number of functions for me besides initial planning, and none of them diminish the fun.

Most recently I've been working on a particularly troublesome pulp novel, the sequel to How Black the Sky. I wrote it originally in Save the Cat form using my condensed version of the 15 beat formula, which I'll post below. Encountering massive issues with pace and focus, I've had to sit back and re-outline the mess away, which of course does happen some times.

As I sat to do that, I decided to throw Lester Dent's pulp formula in, the hope being that it'll help keep things moving! This isn't rocket science or anything, just another way to bolt that story together in the hopes its monstrous shambling will leading to lots of exciting drama, destruction, death and the villain's defeat.

If you need more info on Lester or the Cat, feel free to check out their links or google. If you're already familiar, read on and season to taste!

Premise: 

• -

Opening Image:

• 1--Intro and Stakes

• 2--Immediate Proaction

Setup:

• 3--Intro other Characters

Catalyst:

• 4--Physical conflict

Debate:

• 5--Twist

Break Into Two:

• 1--Grief, rising stakes

B-Story:

• A

Fun and Games:

• 2--Hero struggles

• 3--Physical conflict

• 4--Twist

Optional Repeat the Loop

• 1--Grief, rising stakes

• 2--Hero struggles

• 3--Physical conflict

• 4--Twist

Midpoint:

• 1--Grief, rising stakes

• 2--Hero makes headway - (You could probably put these in a blender and play with false victory/defeat)

Bad Guys Close In:

• 3--Physical conflict

• 4--Twist, in which the hero preferably gets it in the neck bad

All is Lost:

• 1--Dogpile the hero

• 2--All is lost

Dark Night of the Soul:

• A

Break into Three:

• 3--Dig Deep

Finale:

• 4--Final Mysteries Unraveled

• 5--Final twist

Final Image:

• 6--The snapper, the punch line to end it.

My copy of Lester's outline, condensed for ease of use:

• Premise

• 1. AN ORIGINAL METHOD FOR THE VILLAIN TO USE

• 2. AN ORIGINAL THING FOR THE VILLAIN TO BE SEEKING

• 3. AN ORIGINAL LOCALE

• 4. A MENACE WHICH WILL HANG LIKE A CLOUD OVER THE HERO

ACT 1

• 1--Intro and Stakes

• 2--Immediate Proaction

• 3--Intro other Characters

• 4--Physical conflict

• 5--Twist.

ACT 2

• 1--Grief, rising stakes

• 2--Hero struggles

• 3--Physical conflict

• 4--Twist 

ACT 3

• 1--Grief, rising stakes

• 2--Hero makes headway

• 3--Physical conflict

• 4--Twist, in which the hero preferably gets it in the neck bad

ACT 4

• 1--Dogpile the hero

• 2--All is lost

• 3--Dig Deep

• 4--Final Mysteries Unraveled

• 5--Final twist

• 6--The snapper, the punch line to end it.